Introduction
Which is the function of the management interface of a Cisco UCS server for monitoring?
Solution
Cisco UCS C-Series Integrated Management Controller (CIMC)
● Web user interface for server management; remote keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM); virtual media; and administration
● Virtual media support for remote CD and DVD drives as if local
● Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) 2.0 support for out-of-band management through third-party enterprise management systems
● Command-line interface (CLI) for server management
Cisco Integrated Management Controller
The Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) is the management service for the C-Series servers. CIMC runs within the server.
Management Interfaces
You can use a web-based GUI or SSH-based CLI to access, configure, administer, and monitor the server. Almost all tasks can be performed in either interface, and the results of tasks performed in one interface are displayed in another. However, you cannot do the following:
- Use CIMC GUI to invoke CIMC CLI
- View a command that has been invoked through CIMC CLI in CIMC GUI
- Generate CIMC CLI output from CIMC GUI
Tasks You Can Perform in CIMC
You can use CIMC to perform the following server management tasks:
- Power on, power off, power cycle, reset and shut down the server
- Toggle the locator LED
- Configure the server boot order
- View server properties and sensors
- Manage remote presence
- Create and manage local user accounts, and enable remote user authentication through Active Directory
- Configure network-related settings, including NIC properties, IPv4, VLANs, and network security
- Configure communication services, including HTTP, SSH, and IPMI Over LAN
- Manage certificates
- Configure platform event filters
- Update CIMC firmware
- Monitor faults, alarms, and server status
No Operating System or Application Provisioning or Management
CIMC provisions servers, and as a result, exists below the operating system on a server. Therefore, you cannot use it to provision or manage operating systems or applications on servers. For example, you cannot do the following:
- Deploy an OS, such as Windows or Linux
- Deploy patches for software, such as an OS or an application
- Install base software components, such as anti-virus software, monitoring agents, or backup clients
- Install software applications, such as databases, application server software, or web servers
- Perform operator actions, including restarting an Oracle database, restarting printer queues, or handling non-CIMC user accounts
- Configure or manage external storage on the SAN or NAS storage
